Germany set to destroy 8,800 geese amid new bird flu outbreak

BERLIN – The news agency dpa reports that some 8,800 geese on two poultry farms will be culled in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein because some of the animals are infected with the bird flu.

Dpa said Sunday it was not clear yet whether the birds were infected with the H5N8 strain that has been detected in wilds bird across 10 German states since Nov. 8.

Last week, 30,000 chickens were destroyed in Schleswig-Holstein after H5N8 was detected in their enclosure.

Several German states have already ordered farmers to keep their fowl indoors to prevent them picking up the virus, which can easily spread among birds but is not known to infect humans.